A day of friends

Lorraine and I up and tidying the house in a frenzy of hoovering and dusting and so on. Not long after noon, Catherine, Tanya, Guy and Tim arrived. And we had, as is traditional, bubbly and crisps first. Great to see everyone and catch up. Tim greatly recovered now from his illness, and is looking very well. A cheery throng. We sauntered off to Amie's kitchen for some anglo Vietnamese food. Even though there was only six of us, we had to order it a day or so in advance. I had a noodle soup and splashed my shirt with it. Sitting opposite Tim who with a naughty gleam in his eye was talking about throwing off duty and responsibiltie and just doing what you want in life. Why didn't I, for example, just go on a writing retreat for two months? 

Went for ice cream at Holy Cow! and we sat outside. Guy making friends with two older ladies and a dog. Then we all went for a stroll along by the seaside. I had a lovely long chat with Catherine while walking along, a fascinating conversation as ever.   

They all left in Guy's car, and Lorraine and I lurked together for a while. I learned that Chelsea had beaten West Ham 5-0, which was rather pleasing. Brighton also won. 

In the evening, I was out again in Brighton. Lots of happy Seagulls fans on the train, more than two hours after the match had ended. I met Anton and we walked over to Preston Street and went to The Brick. Lovely beer, and Anton and I sat at the back, playing dominoes and sipping continental lagers, mine were dark and lovely. Anton won twice. Enjoyed the tiny Transylvanian barmaid, who at one point gave two dodgy dealerish types the heave ho without batting an eyelid. 

Anton took this terrifying photo of me. Needless to say I am desperate for a haircut.